Page 3 - Sanger Herald 3-28-19 E-edition

Random thoughts Has Sanger been conditioned to expect a different "normal"?
The workshop was
attended by about 200 residents who wanted to learn more about the state ordered rezon- ing of about 63 acres in Sanger to accommo- date affordable housing.
In my opinion, at that time, the city attor- ney Hilda Cantu Montoy, the development director Tom Navarro and the senior planner David Breletic did about as good a job as pos- sible explaining the complex situation and answering questions about it.
I came away from the workshop con- vinced that other communities in California were probably struggling just as hard with the state's unreasonable demands as Sanger.
I came away from the workshop convinced that Sanger residents had every reason to
be upset with the state and no really good reason to be upset with the City of Sanger for simply trying to comply with those unreason- able demands by the state. That was before
I reached out to city managers in Reedley and Dinuba to find out how much trouble they were having dealing with those doggone downright unreasonable state demands.
I chose Dinuba and Reedley because they're about the same size as Sanger and because the Herald has sister newspapers in both towns, the Dinuba Sentinel and the Reedley Exponent.
The responses from Nicole Zieba in Reedley and from Luis Patlan in Dinuba were very similar. To paraphrase their comments only slightly, "What unreasonable demands? What problems?"
To my surprise not all communities in California are going through what Sanger is going through.
That's a myth that, in my new opinion, is being repeated at city council and planning commission meetings and workshops to try to hide the fact that Sanger just flat out dropped the ball and its clumsy attempt to catch up is just "normal."
Maybe it's only normal for Sanger.
Without paraphrasing, here's what the Reedley city manager told the Herald by email, "Reedley did all of this zoning several yearsago. Weareveryconscientiousabout getting out early on issues, making sure our public is thoroughly aware of what we are
What is the city council waiting for?
For the past few years there has been a lot of talk and it doesn't seem like much else by the City of Sanger. I think, primarily, that's because the city council seems to enable what appears to be habitual procrastination by the city manager.
Isn't it about time our city council held him accountable?
Because of his apparent wait until the last minute management style Sanger could have lost grant funds from the state.
Why?
Because of what seems to be his tendency to kick the can down the road while proclaim- ing loudly that he's busy cleaning up messes createdbypreviousadministrationsthat kicked the can down the road.
Why did the city manager not act on a more timely basis when the state told him
in 2016 to get the city in compliance with its “housing element” law? He sat on it for two years, doing nothing. He failed to even make an attempt to comply until the state threat-
Established 1889 • Published every Thursday 740 N Sanger, CA 93657 • (559) 875-2511
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Mourning the death of common sense
SANGER HERALD 3A THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2019 EDITORIAL & OPINION
By Dick Sheppard
I sincerely meant the compliment I paid to the city at the March 21 city council meeting when I told the council what a good job I thought the city did with its March 14 planning com- mission workshop.
Dick Sheppard
doing, holding as many meetings as we need to ..."
The Dinuba city manager said by email, "The City of Dinuba included sufficient land in its adopted General Plan to accom- modate the RHNA (Regional Housing Need Allocation) numbers for very low, low, mod- erate and above moderate income housing. Thus, the city [Dinuba] does not have to rezone any property to meet state housing requirements."
So Reedley and Dinuba, with good plan- ning and timely action, got out in front of the zoning situation and avoided the problem now facing Sanger.
How did Sanger wind up squarely behind the zoning eight ball? Seems like it might have a lot to do with a lack of good planning and timely action, no matter what smoke and mirrors are used to distract you at city coun- cil and planning commission meetings and workshops.
So yes, in my most recent opinion, Sanger residents do have really good reasons - 63 of them in fact - to be upset with the city. I'm no longer feeling sorry for the city, just for its residents.
The long incomprehensible delay in get- ting around to dealing with the state's often repeated requests has created a situation where it's no longer possible to come up with a good solution to the problem.
It makes me wonder how many other situ- ations like this are being ignored? It makes me wonder if Sanger has been conditioned to expect a different "normal" when it comes to municipal governance than Reedley or Dinuba?
••• I planted zinnia flower
seeds Tuesday morning in the cracks, crevices, craters and potholes in the street in front of the Sanger Herald.
There are already
weeds growing in the
rutted and cracked pave-
ment in the 700 block of
N street, so I know the ground is fertile.
I was hoping a little rain shower would give the seeds a good watering.
I believe the Herald may soon be in line to win a downtown Sanger beautification award.
•••
Congratulations to everyone involved in the more than decade long, sometimes rocky process of getting the Sanger Veterans Park's
first phase at the corner of Jensen and Indianola avenues ready for its ceremonial groundbreaking last week.
ened sanctions. Then, the hurried and almost secretive effort to catch up created a huge and unnecessary public backlash that could have been prevented if he had just acted on a more timely basis.
Why does he wait for the last minute and then expect the city council to approve what- ever he wants without a question?
Probably because the city council always approves whatever he wants without a ques- tion.
That kind of blind, unquestioning and enabling city council behavior is likely also going to cause the city to run low on Measure S money. The reason I mention that is be- cause in 2017 the police and fire departments were given salary increases from Measure S money that should never have happened. The grand jury agreed that it was wrong. I rec- ommend everyone get a copy of the Fresno County Grand Jury Report No. 2 , June 2018, and find out from an objective third party what went wrong!
I firmly believe there was a misappropria- tion of Measure S funds by our city manager and city council and it should be further investigatedbyanother grandjuryormaybe even the district attorney. I also firmly be- lieve that if there's no action taken soon, no telling how much more damage will happen.
It's time for a change! Please believe me it's not personal. It's strictly business.
•••
So there is no misunderstanding, I am not
a big fan of Dolores Huerta. I think she some- times takes credit for the accomplishments of others. However, I have become a fan of the small local group called Vecinos Unidos or Neighbors United that operates under the umbrella of the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
I admire the way the group seeks to edu- cate and involve its members in community activities. It moved a meeting from this Thursday to this Friday when it found out the planning commission was going to meet on
In my OPINION
Thursday.
Instead, many of the members will attend
the planning commission meeting.
If you'd like to check out the Friday
Neighbors United get together, it will be from 6-8 p.m. at the Vecinos Hall, corner of 7th and O streets in downtown Sanger. There'll be food and raffle prizes and maybe even some speculation about Sanger's curious zoning problems.
Please direct your questions or comments to sangerherald@gmail.com.
Common Sense
Born - Birth records lost in bureaucratic red tape.
•
Died - Recently.
(Earlier than that in California.)
A very concern citizen.
By Fred Hall
We're sad to say that one of this country's greatest de- fenders of freedom, justice and constitutional guaran- tees passed away recently.
His presence as a leading
force in the struggles to keep
America great were fought
so predictably and quietly Fred Hall
that the efforts went essentially unappreciated in the mainstream media and today's “I want it right now and free” generation. Common Sense was seen as a basic part of the American experience until recently when it wasn't.
Common Sense died of a broken heart, quietly and alone after a generation of poor- ly educated and spoiled Americans began to chip away at his very reason for existing. The following is a modified reprint of Common Sense's obituary:
Today, we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend. Common Sense, who had been with for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. Known affec- tionately to close friends as Horse Sense and Sound Thinking, he selflessly devoted himself to a life of service in homes, schools, hospitals and offices, helping folks get jobs done without a lot of fanfare, whooping and hollering.
Rules and regulations and petty, frivolous lawsuits held no power over C.S. A most reli- able sage, he was credited with cultivating the ability to know when to come in out of the rain, the discovery that the early bird gets the worm and how to take the bitter with the sweet.
C.S. also developed sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn), reliable par- enting strategies (the adult is in charge, not the kid) and prudent dietary plans.
A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, the Technological Revolu- tion and the Smoking Crusades, C.S. survived sundry cultural and educational trends includ- ing disco, the men's movement, body piercing, whole language and new math.
C.S.'s health began to fail in the late 1960s when he became infected with the If-It-Feels- Good, Do-It virus.
In the following decades, his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of overbearing federal and state rules and regu- lations as well as an oppressive tax code. C.S. was sapped of strength and the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, criminals received better treatment than vic- tims and judges stuck their noses in everything from Boy Scouts to professional sports.
His deterioration accelerated as schools implemented zero-tolerance policies. Reports of 6-year-old boys charged with sexual harass- ment for kissing classmates, a teen suspended after using Scope mouthwash after lunch, girls suspended for possessing Midol and an honor student expelled for having a table knife in her school lunch were more than his heart could endure.
As the end neared, doctors say C.S. drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of de- velopments regarding regulations on low-flow toilets and mandatory air bags. Finally, upon hearing about a government plan to ban inhal- ers from 14 million asthmatics due to a trace of a pollutant that may be harmful to the envi-
ronment, C.S. was declared code blue.
The final straw came when a 29-year old ex- bartender who the people of New York elected to the United States Congress declared the world would end in 12 years unless we spent $93 trillion on asinine fixes and Democrats
throughout government joined her.
Common Sense was preceded in death by
his wife, Discretion, one daughter, Responsibil- ity, and one son, Reason. He is survived by two step-brothers, Half-Wit and Dim-Wit.
Memorial contributions may be sent to the instituteforRationalThought. Farewell,Com- monSense. Mayyourestinpeace.
The preceding is a modified, excerpted ver- sion of an essay which was originally written byLoriBergmanbackin1998. Itisarelative- ly easy extrapolation to see just how accurate it has become since it was first penned.
Political correctness, gender identification and hundreds of other examples of liberal in- terpretations have so clouded the thinking of today's society as to become patently dumb— there is no other description.
Although, simply reflecting on the results of this shift in public attitude, it becomes even scarier for those of you reading this column here in California.
California has become the very paradigm for stupid ideas across this entire nation.
Want an example?
Over the decades, California has passed more than $149 billion in water bonds and now the state is toying with the idea of taxing our drinking water. Water is an essential in life. The state should have no control over it. We wonder what they will do when they discover the human body is, on average, about 60 per- cent water. Will that water contained in your body be another source of taxation?
Your next question would be, what about the air we breathe? Too late! There are already 35 air districts in California as well as the De- partment of Motor Vehicles and an unknown number of miscellaneous others who tax and control the air we rely on for life.
People who are here illegally, according to the state, are entitled to driver's licenses, pub- lic welfare, medical care and, we believe, the ability to vote. Their presence costs Califor- nia taxpayers about $25 billion a year and the Democrat party wants the border open to allow even more access to the freebies that citizens are expected to provide.
Where in the world is the common sense in that?
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
In addition to the Sanger Herald, Publisher Fred Hall oversees two other Mid Valley Publishing newspapers - Reedley Exponent, and Dinuba Sentinel. He can be contacted by phone at (559) 638-2244 or by email at fred@ midvalleypublishing.com.
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